Argentina won its first major title in 28 years on Saturday (10) and Lionel Messi finally won his first medal in the blue and white shirt when an Angel Di Maria goal gave them victory over Brazil.
Argentina scored in the 22nd minute when Rodrigo De Paul sent a long pass to Angel Di Maria, who finished with a shot to the head of Ederson, justifying his choice, scoring the opening goal in the middle of the first half.
Brazil increased the pressure in an exciting second half, but even with five forwards on the field, they could not draw against an Argentine defense protected by the excellent Rodrigo De Paul.
He had opportunities to equalize, with a Richarlison goal ruled out for offside in the 52nd minute. Minutes later, Richarlison had another shot at close range but was denied by Emiliano Martinez.
Brazil hit 13 shots against six of Argentina and controlled the ball in 60% of the match.
This was the first time on six occasions that Brazil failed to win the Copa America by hosting the tournament.
Messi was the tournament’s top scorer with four goals and was named best player along with Neymar. But he was silent the entire time and, unusually, missed a golden opportunity to end the game with two minutes to go.
When the final whistle blew, TV Argentina declared “Argentina Champions, Lionel Messi Champion!”
The victory was Argentina’s 15th Copa América triumph and means they drew with Uruguay as the greatest winner of all time.
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The victory extended the streak of unbeaten games to 20 under Lionel Scaloni and gave Brazil its first competitive defeat since losing to Belgium in the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
